Valve for automatic fire-extinguishers.



PATBNTED APR. 25, 1905.

E. G. PATTEE. VALVE POR AUTOMATIC PIRE EXTINGUISHERS.

APPLICATION PIL-ED FEB. 6, 1904.

Patented April 25, 1905.

PATENT QEEICE.

EDWIN G. PATTEE, 'OF CHICAGO, IIILINUIS.

VALVE FOR AUTOMATIC FIREEXTINGUISHERS SPECIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,061, dated April 25, 1905.

Application tiled February 6,1904. Serial No4 192,399.

Be it known that I, Enwix G. PATTEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valves 'for Automatic Fire- Extinguishers, of which the 'following is a specification.

The present invention relates to what is known as the main valve of a dry-pipe automatic fire-extinguishing system.

My object is to provide an improved valve of this type and to this end the invention consists in the features of novelty that are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof, and in which- Figure I is a vertical section ol' a valve embodying the invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are details.

The casing A is provided with an inlet A', adapted Vfor communication with the streetmain or other source of water-supply, and an outlet A, adapted for communication with the riser of the system. The casing has also a chamber B, which is in constant open communication with the water-supply, a chamber B, hereinafter called the low-pressure chamber, and a chamber B, which is in constant open communication with the riser of the system.

The chamber B is maintained at low or atmospheric pressure through the medium of a valved drain b of customary construction, It communicates with the chamber B through the medium of two ports C and C, which are surrounded by valve-seats c and c, respectively, the former of which is presented upward and the latter downward.

D and li are valves adapted to these seats. The former seats against and the latter seats with the water-pressure, and their areas exposed to the water-pressure are differential, with a slight excess in favor of the valve D, so that by reason of an interposed lever F the one has a counterbalancing effect upon the other, which tends to eliminate the injurious effect of water-hammer. At one end the lever is jointed to ears projecting downward from the valve E g but at its other end l it simply bears downward upon a yoke D,

depending from the valve D; but these details are immaterial. At about its midlength the lever bears upward against a fulcrum G, which is adjustable for the purpose of properly setting the valves. This fulcrum consists of a block having a non-circular portion occupying a socket of corresponding shape in the web or diaphragm that separates the chambers B and B. This block has a threaded cavity or socket for receiving the correspondingly-threaded lower end of an adjusting screw H, which is suitably seated against the said diaphragm and provided with a lluted or other noncircular head II Vfor the reception of a. wrench for turning it. By this means the valves D and E may be accurately seated, and this, as well as compensation for inequalities in expansion and contraction, is aided by making one of the valves Vflexible or with a yielding seating-surface. This may be done by constructing it of a central disk, a surrounding-ring adapted for contact with the seat, and an intervening annular diaphragm of flexible Inaterial, preferably thin sheet-steel.

The areas of the valves D and E that are exposed to the pressure of the water being nearly equal and the two arms of the intervening lever being practically equal, it is manifest that, saving the differential, the water-pressure will have no tendency to unseat the valves. In other words, they are nearly balanced one against the other. It therefore follows that water-hammer will not affect them, excepting to the extent of the differentials of their respective arcas or to the mechanical. advantage which one may have over the other due to the length of the respective arms of the lever. It therefore follows that to hold them seated the air-pressure in the system has but to overcome this difference, which it is readily able to do. To this end the valve D is connected by a rigid stem I (preferably) made in two parts threaded and connected by a sleeve, with a valve or cut-off J, which controls communication between the low-pressuie chamber B/ and the system. As shown, this valve has a flexible margin j, which contacts with its seat, and

this compensates for inequalities in expansion and contraction and for inaccuracies in the construction and adjustment of the parts. Furthermore, this valve is shown as having a larger area exposed to the pressure of the air in the system than either of the valves D or E has exposed to the water-pressure; but this is not material, because it is manifest that the valves D and E being practically balanced one against the other with only a slight preponderance in favor of their unseating it is only necessary that the pressure upon the valve J be sufficient to overcome this preponderance.

Whilesetting the valve the cut-off E is held up by a bolt K, which passes through a disk L, that spans the port CC The bolt and disk are located in the low-pressure chamber B and are accessible through a handhole thereof. ln the drawings they are dotted.

It will be observed that when the valve is set and the temporary support K L removed there is nothing tending to hold up the lever and the valve E excepting the upward pressure of the water against the latter. In other words, the lever is free to fall away from its fulcrum and carry with it the valve E. When.the valve has fallen to the bottom of the chamber B, the water has no tendency to lift and reseat it, and hence it is impossible for the valve to become columned.

For guiding the lever in its fall a slotted yoke M is provided, and for preventing its endwise movement a stud m is arranged on the side of the lever and adapted to'contact with the yoke.

The characteristic feature of the present invention is that the valves are automatically unseated by the pressure of the water in the main or supply pipe upon a predetermined reduction of the air-pressure in the system. It does not belong to that class of valves in which the water-pressure in the main or sup ly pipe positively holds the water-valves c osed and in which the watervalves are opened in opposition to the waterpressure by the air-pressure in the system acting through the medium of some multiplying mechanism. The water-valves, as before intimated, are dierential and the eX- cess, which is only slight, is in favor of the valve which seats against the water-pressure, so that the instant all other forces tending to hold the valves closed are removed this excess will cause or allow the valves to open.

What l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is4

l. ln a device of the class described, the combination with a casing having a chamber and provided with two ports opening thereinto for the admission of water and a port opening therefrom for the escape of water to the system, of two valves for controlling the water-inlet ports, one of said valves seating with the other against the water-pressure,

2. ln a device of the class described, the

combination with a casing having a chamber and provided with two ports opening thereinto for the admission of water and a port opening therefrom for the escape of the water to the system, of two differential valves for controlling the water-inlet ports, one of said valves seating with and the other against the water-pressure and the preponderance of the differential being in favor of the valve seating against the water-pressure, intervening mechanism through the medium of which said valves oppose each other with a counterbalancing effect, and means controlled by the pressure in the system for overcoming said preponderance and holding the valves normally seated, whereby when the pressure in the system is reduced the pressure of the water will automatically unseat said valves, substantially as described.

3. ln a device of the class described, the combination with a casing having a chamber and provided with two ports opening thereinto forthe admission of water and a port opening therefrom for the escape of water to the system, of two valves for controlling the water-inlet ports, one of said valves seating with and the other against the water-pressure, said ports and valves being disposed side by side and out of axial alinement with each other, a lever, lfulcrumed between the two valves, through the medium of which they oppose each other with a counterbalancing effect, and means controlled by the pressure in the system for holding the valves seated in opposition to the preponderance of water-pressure against them, said preponderance being in favor of the valve seating against the water-pressure whereby upon a reduction of the pressure in the system the water-pressure will automatically unseat the valves, substantially as described.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a casing having a low-pressure chamber and provided with two ports opening thereinto for the admission of water and a port opening therefrom for the escape of water to the system, of two valves for controlling the water-inlet ports, one of said valves seating with and the other against the water-pressure, intervening mechanism through the medium of which said valves oppose each other With a counterbalancing effect, an air-valve for controlling the port- TOO opening to the system, and means for transmitting ressure from said air-valve to the water-va ves `for holding them seated in opposition to the preponderance of water-pressure against them, said preponderance being in Vtavor of the valve seating against the water-pressure, substantially as described.

5. ln a device oi' the class described, the combination with a casing having a waterchamber7 a low-pressure chamber communicating with the water-chamber through two ports, and an airchamber communicating with the low-pressure chamber through a port, ot' differential valves, one seating with the water-pressure, the other seat-ing against the water-pressure, the preponderance of the diilerential being in favor of the valve seating against the water-pressure, intervening mechanism through the medium of which said valves oppose each other with a counter'- balancing etl'ect, a valve for controlling the air-port aforesaid, and means for transmitting pressure from said air-valve to the water-valves whereby thel preponderance of water-pressure is overcome, substantially as described.

6. ln a device of the class described, the combination with a casing having two ports for the admission of water, and a pair of valves for controlling said ports, one ot' said valves seating with and the other against the water-pressure, of aflcver for transmitting pressure trom one ot' said valves to the other, so that each has a counterbalancing e'll'ect upon the other, and a fulcrum for the lever, the lever being free to fall away from its fulcrum and Carr)vv with it one of said valves, substantially as described.

EDVIN G. PATTEE. lVitnesses:

JARvIs HUNT, L. M. HOPKINS. 

